Maya Thompson is an MA student in the American Studies department, concentrating in Museums and Material culture. She obtained her BA from Wellesley College, where she majored in American Studies and minored in Africana Studies. She’s had volunteer and internship experiences with the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She currently works in archives and special collections, helping to preserve and amplify the unique local history of the District of Columbia. Her ever-evolving academic interests include Black musical performance, archives and memory, and slavery in the United States.
What are you studying/working on right now?
Right now I’m just enjoying my classes and encountering ideas that are new to me through our readings.
Where/what did you study as an undergraduate?
I graduated from Wellesley College, where I majored in American Studies and minored in Africana Studies
Why American Studies and why GW?
I can't think of a better place to dive into museums and material culture than this department and this city, surrounded by so many cultural institutions
What piece of advice would you give, or what piece of advice has been most influential to you, about living around GW and DC?
There’s always something to do, for free! You can find some amazing cultural events through local blogs and newsletters.
Is there one book or piece of media that inspired . you to pursue the field of American Studies? If so, which one and why?
It’s hard to pin down just one! But the very nature of the question captures the amazing breadth of the field.
If you were tasked with introducing yourself to a person only by recommending to them one film, which would you choose and why?
A Rasin in the Sun (1961).
Imagine you're up to bat as a Major League Baseball Player. You need a walk-up song. Which would you choose?
Almeda by Solange